Crude oil inventories and production in the U.S. fell slightly last week, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.
Commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 1.1 million barrels, or 0.2%, to 446.8 million barrels for the week ending Dec. 13, the EIA data showed. The market expectation was a decline of 1.3 million barrels. Inventories increased by 0.8 million barrels during the previous week.
Strategic petroleum reserves, which are not included in the commercial crude stocks, remained unchanged at 635 million barrels last week, the data revealed.
Gasoline inventories showed an increase of 2.5 million barrels, or 1.1%, to 237.3 million barrels during that period, more than the market expectation of an increase of 2.2 million barrels. The previous week saw gasoline inventories jump by 5.4 million barrels.
- Crude output slightly falls
The U.S.' crude oil imports fell by 308,000 barrels per day (bpd) to reach 6.58 million bpd for the week ending Dec. 13, but crude oil exports saw an increase of 233,000 bpd to 3.63 million bpd, according to the EIA data.
The U.S.' crude oil production decreased by 7,000 bpd to remain almost unchanged at 12.8 million bpd for the week ending Dec. 13, the EIA data showed. While there was an 7,000 bpd decline in the state of Alaska, output from other U.S. states, excluding Hawaii, remained steady.
Crude oil production in the U.S. is expected to average 13.2 million bpd in 2020, according to the EIA's Short-Term Energy Outlook report for December.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr